Emily Chan
These concerns were brushed aside in favor of another tactic by the USDA to get rid of some cheese. Overall, the campaign helped boost cheese sales by over 30 million pounds.
The hoarding hasn’t stopped at all, even though the U.S. never really figured out what to do with all its extra dairy. To this day, the government continues to buy up massive amounts of dairy.
Per a 2022 report, the USDA has 1.4 billion pounds of cheese in storage, along with 311 million pounds of butter. The agency even has 211 million pounds of pecans and just under a billion pounds of French fries.
The cheese is all owned by private companies now. A large pile of it sits in a series of caves underneath Springfield, Missouri. The caves provide a safe, climate-controlled place for the surplus of cheese.
